First Corinthians Chapter 15:29-58/Commentary

First Corinthians Chapter 15:29-58

Outline: I.

Paul’s actions look foolish if there is no resurrection: 15:29-32

II.

Rebuke: 15:33-34

III.

The condition of the resurrected body: 15:35-49

IV.

What about the living when Christ comes again? 15:50-58

“To clinch the argument for the truth and the necessity of the Christian resurrection and to bring it home to the readers, the Apostle points out how futile Christian devotion must be, such as is witnessed in ‘those baptized for the dead’ and in his own daily hazards, if death ends all (29-31); present enjoyment would then appear the highest good (32). The effect of unbelief in the future life is already painfully apparent in the relaxed moral tone of a certain part of the Corinthian Church (33f.)” (Gr. Ex. N.T. p. 930). This paragraph makes is clear that the issue of their denying the resurrection is no small matter. The actions of them (v. 29), not to mention himself (vv. 30-32), border on absurdity if the dead are not raised. But even more importantly, he concludes (vv. 33-34) with an exhortation to righteous living, which strongly implies that there are some close ties between this particular issue and the 1

aberrant behavior he has been attacking throughout the letter” (Fee pp. 761762).

1 Corinthians 15:29 “Else what shall they do that are baptized for the dead?

If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them?”

“Else”: “Otherwise” (NASV). “If all that is stated in the preceding is not fact” (Lenski p. 688). “That are baptized for the dead?”: As you can well imagine a multitude of interpretations surround this verse, yet as in all difficult texts, we can begin by removing those views which contradict other passages in the Bible.

Paul approved of the practice (baptism) under consideration in this verse.

“Whatever the practice was, Paul uses it to make a case for the resurrection of the dead. This would have to mean he approves of the practice. If it was an error he could hardly have used it as an argument in favor of the resurrection of the dead. You can't establish truth on the basis of an error” (McGuiggan p. 195). Some Commentators argue that Paul here refers to a practice in Corinth of which he does not approve, that is, Christians were being baptized for their dead relatives who had died outside of Christ, yet all the previous abuses referred to in this letter are rebuked. Fee adds, “The second problem is theological and has to do with how Paul can appeal, without apparent disapproval, to a practice that stands in such contradiction to his own understanding both of justification by grace through faith, which always implies response on the part of the believer” (p. 764).

The practice under consideration was universal: “There'd be little point in making an argument based on something only a few of them believed. Because the bulk of them who disbelieved would be sure to tell Paul: ‘But what do we care what that little group practices. We don't believe that!’” (McGuiggan p. 196). “The present timeless participle describes those who receive baptism at any time, whether in the past, present, or future. All of the Corinthians are, of course, among the baptized.

But it also includes all others who receive baptism anywhere and at any time.

The one mark that is characteristic of all of them is baptism” (Lenski p. 689).

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Therefore the baptism under consideration must be water baptism: It was a universal practice (Mark 16:15-16). Every Christian could identify with it (1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 4:5), it was related to the resurrection (Romans 6:3-5), and it had Paul's approval. Hence the only question is, what does the phrase "for the dead" mean?

“For the dead”: "For the dead one": That is referring to Christ: “This theory says that the person is baptized for the dead one, Jesus Christ.

However, the word ‘dead’ is a plural noun, hardly applicable to the person Christ” (Willis p. 562). “Otherwise what shall they do who are baptized? For the dead? (that is are they baptized to belong to, to be numbered among the dead, who are never to rise again?) Indeed, if the dead do not rise again, why are people baptized?'’ (Fee p. 766).

“That is, is one baptized in order to forever be in the realm of the dead? This position has the merit of recognizing the legitimate purpose of New Testament baptism. First of all, one is baptized in order to be saved (Mark 16:16). If there is no resurrection from the dead, what difference does it make whether or not one has his sins washed away. Hence, if the dead are not raised, one's baptism is absolutely nonsensical” (Willis p. 564). This view also seems consistent with Paul's line of reasoning in the rest of this section (vv. 30-32). Because Paul's other arguments reach the same end result, that is, if there is no resurrection, then no future life exists (15:32). The logic behind his argument appears to be that if no resurrection exists, then there must be no need for it, that is no future life to be enjoyed. Jesus argued in a similar vein. If it can be proved by the Scriptures that man does have an existence apart from the body (Matthew 22:31-32), then one has also proven the need for the resurrection with the same Scriptures. Another way to put this would be to say that the resurrection implies that the body needs to be reunited with something, i.e. the soul. If there is no resurrection, then the body doesn't need to be reunited with anything, therefore man doesn't have a soul, and hence when man dies he is dead all over. So in the above verse it

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appears that Paul is saying, if that is true, then baptism becomes absolutely meaningless.

Various thoughts concerning Mormon practice of "baptism for the dead": The practice violates Scripture: “Such a practice would be false because it would undermine the notion of personal responsibility and personal trust (John 3:16; Romans 10:17; Acts 2:40; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38). Even in the matter of meat-eating (Romans 14:23) one is not permitted to act on another's faith. How much less in the matter of submission to Christ as Lord?” (McGuiggan p. 197). “The Mormon practice, interestingly enough, is totally unknown to the book of Mormon. The practice was brought into the Mormon movement through the writings of the Doctrine & Covenants. One of the original three witnesses in favor of the book of Mormon, David Whitmer, has written an address to ‘All Believers in the Bible and the Book of Mormon’. In it he claims to have received revelation from God saying that Joseph Smith was led away by the Devil in introducing the D & C which brings in polygamy, celestial marriages, priesthood and baptism for the dead” (McGuiggan p. 198). “Mormons try to make their practice more palatable to non-Mormons by suggesting that their baptism (for the dead) are for those who ‘have never heard the gospel’. This elicits some sympathy. After all, ‘they didn't get a chance; is that fair?’ This is all subterfuge. The records the Mormons keep (and they keep meticulous records) of those on whose behalf they have been baptized are not pagans in some far off land. They are their own people!” (McGuiggan p. 198).

“Chrysostom describes such a practice among the Marcionites (a heretical sect). This is an especially strong argument against the Mormons, e.g., who would justify their practice on alleged ‘biblical’ grounds (which is of some interest in itself since the exegesis of the biblical text generally holds very little interest for them” (Fee p. 764). From the above statements, it appears that concerning some issues, the Book of Mormon also carries very little weight with them, especially in light of the fact that Alma 34:32-35 says, “For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God. For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil and this is the FINAL STATE OF THE WICKED”.

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1 Corinthians 15:30 “Why do we also stand in jeopardy every hour?”

“Why do we”: Paul and his companions. “Stand in jeopardy every hour”: “In danger every hour” (NASV). “Why do I put my life to hazard every hour” (Con). “Why also do we apostles take such risks every hour” (Wey). 1 Corinthians 4:9; 2 Corinthians 4:8-11; 11:23ff. “As he will detail on more than one occasion, his apostolic ministry was a constant round of hardship and danger of all kinds. The emphasis here is on its continual (‘every hour’) dangers for which the next two verses serve as commentary. His point, of course, is that he is indeed crazy to put his life in constant jeopardy for the sake of others, if neither he nor they have hope in the resurrection” (Fee p.

768). “He was never out of danger from Damascus to the last visit to Rome” (Robertson p. 193).

1 Corinthians 15:31 “I protest by that glorifying in you, brethren, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily” “I protest”: “I swear by. Literally it reads ‘I swear by your boasting’” (Fee p.

769). “I swear it” (TCNT). “I swear it by my pride in you, my brothers--for in Christ Jesus our Lord I am proud of you” (NEB). “What a telling oath this is.

To make sure that they understand the truth of his constant facing of death, he swears by that which is dearest to him, their own existence in Christ, which also came about by labors that had exposed him to such dangers” (Fee p.

770). “Which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord”: He is proud of his successful work among the Corinthians, and yet, he always realizes that God was the One who gave the increase. “I die daily”: “Death is his daily companion. He never knows at what moment some blow of persecution may strike him down” (Lenski pp. 692-693). “He looks death in the face every day. If his readiness to do so does not prove the objective validity of the resurrection hope, it certainly bears witness to his firm grasp of that hope” (F.F. Bruce p.

149). “On a daily basis I face the reality of death” (Fee p. 769) (Romans 8:36).

Paul is saying that just as sure as he rejoices in them he faces death on a daily basis to bring the gospel to them and others.

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1 Corinthians 15:32 “If after the manner of men I fought with beasts at Ephesus, what doth it profit me? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die” “After the manner of men”: “To use the popular expression” (Phi). “If with only human hopes” (TCNT). “If there were no future rewards, no blessed immortality, why, humanly speaking, had he ‘fought with beasts at Ephesus?’” (Erdman p. 162). “As men ordinarily do, for temporal reward; and not under the influence of any higher principle or hope” (Vincent p.

277). Paul is saying, if there is no resurrection, then that demands that I am motivated to risk my life by a purely human motive, such as money or fame.

The Corinthians have not realized that their denial of the resurrection makes Paul and the other Apostles look really selfish. Their false doctrine makes it appear that Paul and his companions are teachers of false doctrine (15:15), and it makes them look pitiful (15:19), for if one is risking the present life and happiness for a future life that doesn't exist, then one looks like a fool. Paul says, “your teaching not only undermines everything we believe in, it makes me and the other apostles look like men motivated by some human ulterior motive”.

“I fought with beasts at Ephesus”: The question has always been, “Is this literal or figurative?” Many commentators cite the fact that Paul's Roman citizenship would have exempted him from such punishment. “But Paul was a Roman citizen. If he were cast to the lions unlawfully, he could have prevented it by claiming his citizenship” (Robertson p. 193). “No such (literal) experience is recorded in the list of his woes in 2 Corinthians 11; moreover it appears from Acts 19:31-40 that Paul had friends in high quarters at Ephesus who would have prevented this outrage if attempted” (Gr. Ex. N.T. p. 932). The reference is probably figurative, although it is tempting to imagine the Apostle Paul endowed with miraculous strength, fighting off lions and other wild animals in a Roman arena. While in Ephesus, Paul was challenged by men who behaved like wild beasts (Acts 19:23ff). He indicates at the end of this letter that things in Ephesus had not improved much (16:8-9 “there are many adversaries”). See also 2 Corinthians 1:8-9. “What doth it profit me?”: “What do I gain” (RSV). “What is the good of an ordeal like that if there is no life after this one” (Phi). “Even such a feat (figurative or literal) would bring no advantage if the dead are not raised” (F.F. Bruce p. 150). “Let us eat and

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drink, for to-morrow we die”: “If there is no resurrection, then instead of ‘fighting wild beasts in Ephesus’, one may as well go the route of despair--and dissolution--and ‘eat and drink, for tomorrow we die to be without hope in the resurrection life is a constant round of nothing” (Fee p. 772).

“If death ends all, life has really little more to offer than eating and drinking, creature comforts like those of the brute” (Lenski p. 698). “If men persuade themselves that they shall die like beasts, they soon will live like beasts too” (McGarvey p. 154). Consider the last statement, and then ponder the fact that especially for the last 30 years our society has been indoctrinating its children with the belief that we are just evolved forms of animal life. The problems seen in many adults, young adults, and teenagers are predictable behaviors considering what they have been taught.

1 Corinthians 15:33 “Be not deceived: Evil companionships corrupt good morals” “Be not deceived”: “Do not go on being deceived! Deception runs its course; do not be persuaded to enter on or to continue in this course” (Lenski p. 698) (6:9). “Evil companionships”: “Bad company” (NASV).

“Corrupt good morals”: “Ruins good habits” (Beck). “Ruins character” (Gspd). The bad company in this verse are those who are teaching error (15:12). “Conduct begins with teaching. Example is the strongest way to convey teaching but example is based on teaching. We sooner or later act out what we've come to believe” (McGuiggan p. 199). “One who rejects the resurrection cannot live and act like one who truly believes this divine reality” (Lenski p. 699). “At first, the false doctrine would appear to be an innocent theory about the dead; soon those who accepted it would reason, ‘Why deny myself of this fleshly pleasure since there is no resurrection anyway?’” (Willis p. 568). This statement is also found in a secular work from the ancient world.

“The quotation bad company ruins good morals’ is an iambic trimeter from Menander's comedy Thais; it had probably become a proverbial saying” (F.F. Bruce p. 150). This was the Greek equivalent to 1 Corinthians 5:6 ”a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough”.

1 Corinthians 15:34 “Awake to soberness righteously, and sin not; for some have no knowledge of God: I speak this to move you to shame”

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“Awake to soberness righteously”: “Become sober-minded as you ought” (NASV). “Come to your senses” (Nor). “It means to awake from a drunken stupor” (Vincent p. 279). “Shake off, therefore, this drunken fit, and keep from those sins in which it has tempted you to indulge” (McGarvey p. 154).

“A startling call, to men fallen as if into a drunken sleep under the seductions of sensualism and heathen society and the fumes of intellectual pride” (Gr. Ex. N.T. 933). “It is the way of all rationalists and all skeptics to pose as clearheaded, sound, and sober thinkers and to charge true believers with blind acceptance of ‘dogmas’ that are nothing but narcotics” (Lenski p. 699). “Sin not”: “Stop sinning” (Robertson p. 194). Which implies that this error had led some already into sin. “For some have no knowledge of God”: “It is possible that this is a word that points outward, to those outside their community who do not know God and, given the present theological delusion and behavioral aberrations of this Christian community, are not likely to.

Nonetheless, in the present context this is almost certainly a word of irony, the ultimate ‘put down’ of those responsible for taking this church down its present disastrous course...that those who deny the resurrection ultimately live in ignorance of God” (Fee p. 774). “Those who claimed to have superior knowledge which led them to deny the resurrection might have had greater acquaintance with Greek philosophy. However, they lacked knowledge of God” (Willis p. 568). “I speak this to move you to shame”: “You should be ashamed that I have to write like this at all!” (Phi). “The presence of these skeptics brings disgrace to the entire congregation, and the congregation ought to realize this and to purge itself” (Lenski p. 701).

“We are often told that errorists are just as ‘good’ (morally) as those who believe and confess God's truth, perhaps even ‘better’; but Paul does not agree. Doctrine is never an indifferent thing; it always works itself out in life” (Lenski p. 701).

Answering Objections concerning the Nature of the Resurrected Body 1 Corinthians 15:35 “But some one will say, ‘How are the dead raised?’ ‘And with what manner of body do they come’”?

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“How are the dead raised?”: “May not deal with the mechanics of the resurrection. That's possible, but it's more likely that the last half of the verse explains what the first part has in mind. If they'd been asking by what power, the quick answer would have been, God's! That's not the answer” (McGuiggan p. 200). “And with what manner of body do they come?”: Apparently some in Corinth could only see man having one type of body, that being a physical body. Some thought the doctrine of the resurrection was ridiculous, because they imagined that such a doctrine taught that decayed corpses would come forth from the grave ( a kind of religious "night of the living dead"). “The body falls apart, it decomposes. Can you see that coming out of the tomb? Someone sniggers” (McGuiggan p. 200). We still face such questions, even among Christians today. “How is God going to resurrect someone that has been eaten by wild animals, cremated, buried at sea, or eaten by a shark?” “They wondered how God could restore a body which returned to the dust, passed thence into vegetation, and hence into the bodies of animals and other men” (McGarvey p. 155).

1 Corinthians 15:36 “Thou foolish one, that which thou thyself sowest is not quickened except it die” “Thou foolish one”: “Skeptics (agnostics) pose as unusually intellectual but pose does not make one intelligent” (Robertson p. 195). “Not only was the spirit bad, the reasoning was terrible” (McGuiggan p. 200). “Does this man try to make a joke of the resurrection and to turn the laugh upon simple believers by stating that the dead body will be patched together again from the dust, once more to begin its round of life in eating and drinking. What a fool to think of the resurrection in so pitiful a way!” (Lenski p. 703). “The implication is not simply that such questions suggest one to have taken leave of his senses, but that one stands as the ‘fool’ in the OT sense--as the person who has failed to take God into account” (Fee p. 780). In light of this statement by Paul, what would God call someone that expressed disbelief in the virgin birth of Christ, that God created the universe in six days, Noah’s flood, or Jonah being swallowed by the big fish? “Quickened”: To make alive.

“That which thou thyself sowest”: “You hold the answer in your own hands” (Fee p. 780). “In your own experience you know that a seed does not germinate without itself dying” (Phi). Some of the Corinthians were under the

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impression that the resurrected body just had to be made of the same stuff as the body that was buried.

1 Corinthians 15:37 “and that which thou sowest, thou sowest not the body that shall be, but a bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other kind” “Thou sowest not the body that shall be”: “Paul calls the man who thus puzzles himself a foolish one, because he denies that the all-powerful God can do with a human body that which he himself practically does annually with the bodies (grains) of wheat, etc., by merely availing himself of the common course of nature” (Mcgarvey p. 155).

1 Corinthians 15:38 “but God giveth it a body even as it pleased Him, and to each seed a body of its own” Some of the very ones who were denying the resurrection were farmers who saw a resurrection very spring. Just because they planted a seed into the ground, did not demand that the plant that sprang up had to look exactly like the seed planted. They did not believe that decomposed seeds sprang up from buried seeds. Every year they witnessed that beautiful plants had sprung up from decomposed and buried seeds. Therefore it is foolish to think that the resurrected body must be the old decomposed body "patched" up.

Even though there is no "vestige of its afterlife visible in the seed itself" (Fee p. 781); it still has one (the plant that springs from it). Likewise, the human body appears to be weak and mortal, and yet it does have a glorious future.

“Even as it pleased Him”: “That is why the interlocutor is called a fool in v. 36; such a question has left God out of account. God does as He pleases; and what pleases Him is to ‘transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like Christ's glorious body’ (Philippians 3:21)” (Fee p. 782).

“Paul knows of no blind chance development of nature similar to ideas advanced in the godless theory of evolution, rather the very body which comes from the various seeds is fixed and determined by God” (Willis p. 573).

See Genesis 1:12. “But even supposing the body comes up out of the grave in a healthy (and not a decomposed) condition, it's bound to die again. And are there to be numerous resurrections since every time the body comes back up

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it is destined to die again. But there is no body here except in the limitations of the critic's mind. There's more than one kind of body. God isn't lacking in the ability to create different kinds of bodies depending on differing sets of circumstances and different purposes” (McGuiggan p. 200).

1 Corinthians 15:39 “All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fishes” The same ingenuity that God has manifested in the plant realm (15:38); is also demonstrated in the animal kingdom. God has designed "bodies" to live in water, to fly, to survive in environments will little water, with extreme heat and with extreme cold.

“All flesh is not the same flesh”: Indicating that God can make bodies out of different "stuff". He is not limited to just one kind of "flesh", even in the physical realm. Therefore, how then can one limit Him in the spiritual realm?

1 Corinthians 15:40 “There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another” “Celestial bodies”: Above the sky, heavenly. “Terrestrial”: Of the earth. The "celestial bodies" apparently are those mentioned in the next verse, such as the sun, moon and the stars. The "terrestrial" bodies are any bodies found upon the earth, including man and the animals, those bodies mentioned in the previous verses. “Glory”: “Splendor”; “beauty”. “Brightness, splendor, radiance” (Willis p. 575).

1 Corinthians 15:41 “There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star in glory” “For one star differeth from another star in glory”: “In brightness” (NEB). “In brilliancy” (Ber). “Stars differ in magnitude and brilliancy. The telescope has added more force to Paul's argument” (Robertson p. 196). Paul's point is that seeing that God can produce so many differing bodies, which also differ in

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splendor, and that this truth is evident in the entire created universe, we cannot argue that God cannot give anymore glory to the body that we now inhabit. “Just as differing glory can be seen in the heavens, so God can produce differing degrees of glory in man's body” (McGuiggan p. 201).

“Experience cannot teach that there is a type of life for which no suitable body can be found” (Willis pp. 575-576). “In this part of the argument Paul is correcting a cardinal error in Greek thought. They stumbled at the doctrine of a resurrection, because they regarded the body as a clog to the soul; and so the body might indeed be, if God could form but one kind of body. But He can form celestial as well as terrestrial bodies, and spiritual bodies adapted to the needs of the spirit, which will not hinder it as does this earthly tabernacle which it now inhabits--bodies which will not only prove no disadvantage, but of infinite assistance” (McGarvey p. 156). One cannot argue against God or biblical truth by using the creation. Since God created this universe, correct facts about this physical creation will always side with God. The Christian has nothing to fear from true science.

1 Corinthians 15:42 “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption” “So also is the resurrection of the dead”: “We who see all of this variety in the creatures which God called into being and placed before our eyes ought to have no difficultly as to the form and the character of the bodies which God will bring forth from the graves at the resurrection” (Lenski pp. 710-11).

“It is sown”: “Is a fitting word to refer to a burial” (Willis p. 576). Just like the seed mentioned in 15:36. “In corruption”: “Decomposition” (Ber). “A perishable body” (NASV). “When the body is sown, it decays” (Beck). The body that is placed in the grave decays, just like the seed that is placed in the earth. “It is raised in incorruption”: “Free from decay” (Gspd). “An imperishable body” (NASV). “Not raised corrupt and then made incorrupt but raised incorruptible” (McGuiggan p. 202).

1 Corinthians 15:43 “it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power” “Sown in dishonor”: “Buried because it is repulsive and will become offensive-John 11:39” (McGarvey p. 157). “We, indeed, try to honor the dead

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whom we bury by clothing them in their best, giving them a fine casket, flowers, our attending presence--yet the body itself is enveloped ‘in dishonor’--we soon hurry it from sight” (Lenski p. 712). “It is raised in glory”: See Philippians 3:21. “Sown in weakness”: “Lack of strength as shown in the victory of death” (Robertson p. 196). “The dead body is altogether without power. It cannot even resist being buried, much-less the process of decay” (Willis p. 577). “Raised in power”: A body that death cannot conquer, and a body fashioned and raised by the power of God (Romans 8:11).

1 Corinthians 15:44 “it is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body” “Natural body”: “A natural body tells you where it is made for. It is suited for life here. Neither of these two adjectives (‘natural’, ‘spiritual’) tell us of the substantial nature of the body. They don't tell us what the ‘stuff’ of the body consists of” (McGuiggan p. 202). “Spiritual body”: A body adapted and geared for a spiritual existence. “If there is”: “As surely as there is” (TCNT) Our resurrected body, is just as certain as the bodies that we now inhabit.

Adam and Christ The connection of this parallel with the previous verse, is that 15:45-49 is offered as proof of the assertion found in 15:44, “If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body”. Paul now proceeds to prove that last statement.

1 Corinthians 15:45 “So also it is written, The first man Adam became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit” “So also it is written”: Genesis 2:7 “The first man Adam”: Paul does not hold the view that a pre-Adamitic race of men lived on the earth and were destroyed prior to Adam. Paul did believe that Adam and Eve were actual historical persons (1 Timothy 2:13-15), and that specifically Adam was the “first” man.

“Became a living soul”: “Became a human being” (TCNT). The reference in Genesis 2:7 is describing the formation of Adam's physical body. “The last

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Adam”: Christ. “A life-giving spirit”: “We receive a (‘living-soul’) body fitted for life in this world from Adam; we receive a (‘life-giving spirit’) a body fitted for life in the world to come from Christ” (Willis p. 579). See 1 Corinthians 15:22.

1 Corinthians 15:46 “Howbeit that is not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; then that which is spiritual” “Any ideas which speculate that the spirit of man existed prior to his body must come to grips with this verse. This verse clearly teaches that the first existence of man is his physical existence” (Willis p. 580).

1 Corinthians 15:47 “The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is of heaven” “Is of the earth”: “Man the first is from the earth, material” (Mof). Adam's body originated from the dust (Genesis 2:7; Ecclesiastes 12:7). “Earthy”: soillike. “Is of heaven”: See John 1:1; 14; Philippians 3:21; 1 John 3:1-2.

1 Corinthians 15:48 “As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly” 1 Corinthians 15:49 “And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly” “Borne the image of the earthy”: “And as we have reflected the likeness of him who was made of dust” (Wms). “We shall also bear the image of the heavenly”: We shall be resurrected in a body "like" the one that Christ possesses (Philippians 3:21; 1 John 3:1-2).

What about the living when Christ comes?

1 Corinthians 15:50 “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption”

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Paul now considers another possible objection to the resurrection, “What will happen to those who are alive when Christ comes?” “How can they be resurrected, seeing that they aren't dead yet?”

“Now this I say, brethren”: A transition in thought. “Flesh and blood”: “An earthly body made of flesh and blood cannot get into God's kingdom” (Tay).

“Our earthly (natural) bodies are not suited for eternal life” (Willis p. 584).

This may “mean this mortal body, and may denote the living rather than the dead” (F.F. Bruce p. 153). “The kingdom of God”: The heavenly kingdom (6:9; 2 Peter 1:11). “Corruption”: Decay and ruin. This is the "real nature" of flesh and blood, that which is prone to decay and death. “Incorruption”: This refers to the kingdom of God. The real nature of heaven, eternal life is "incorruption" (1 Peter 1:4).

1 Corinthians 15:51 “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed” “I tell you a mystery”: “Listen, I will tell you God's hidden purpose!” (TCNT) The word mystery does not refer to something that is incomprehensible (what's the use of telling someone something they cannot understand?), rather it refers to truth that remained unrevealed in the past but is now revealed (1 Corinthians 2:7-13; Ephesians 3:3-6). “We all shall not sleep”: “Not all of us are to die” (Mof). This earth will contain living Christians when Jesus comes again (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17). “Some understood Paul to make an affirmation that ‘we’ (including himself and some of the Corinthians) would not all die. Paul was exactly in the same position as any other Christian.

He knew that the Lord was coming again but did not know when (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3). When, therefore, he speaks of what will happen to the living at the time of Christ's second coming, he included himself just as the rest of us do so frequently” (Willis p. 586). “But we shall all be changed”: “Shall be made other—altered” (Lenski p. 737). Obviously changed into a state other than "flesh and blood".

1 Corinthians 15:52 “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed”

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“In a moment”: “Something that cannot be cut or divided” (Lenski p. 738).

“An indivisible fragment of time” (F.F. Bruce p. 155). “Twinkling of an eye”: “The change will be as instantaneous as the moving of an eyelid” (Erdman p. 167). “The split-second speed of the transformation” (F.F. Bruce p. 155).

This would indicate that Matthew 24, especially verses 3-34, cannot refer to the Second Coming of Christ, because in those verses Christians are commanded to flee (24:16). In this chapter there is no time to flee, which also infers that the wicked will have no time to repent (1 Thessalonians 5:13). “At the last trump”: “This tells us when the change will occur” (Willis p.

586). “It is the last trumpet not because it is the final in a series, but because it signals the End” (Fee p. 802). See 1 Thessalonians 4:16. “And we shall be changed”: See 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.

1 Corinthians 15:53 “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” “This corruptible”: This body composed of "flesh and blood" (15:50).

“Incorruption”: A body that cannot decay. “This mortal”: That which is liable to death, this physical body that is prone to die. “Immortality”: Deathlessness, that is a body that will never decay or die. “Incorruption and immortality is not predicated of the ‘soul’ here, but of the body, and that truth is what most of the Greeks needed to hear. The Bible does not teach redemption from the body (a view which is central to reincarnation and most Eastern religions), but the redemption of the body. (Romans 8:23)” (McGuiggan p. 204).

1 Corinthians 15:54 “But when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory” “Then shall come to pass the saying that is written”: “And it's at the time when this corruptible body is transformed that Hosea 13:14 finds fulfillment with a vengeance” (McGuiggan p. 205). “Death is swallowed up in victory”: See Isaiah 25:8. “The figure in swallow up is drastic and expresses complete destruction” (Lenski p. 744). “And death shall be no more” (Revelation 21:4).

See also Revelation 20:14. “The one who has swallowed up the human race, as being himself swallowed up in victory” (McGarvey p. 159).

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1 Corinthians 15:55 “O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?”

“O death, where is thy victory?”: From Hosea 13:14. “And then the taunting song begins. A song which righteous people have wanted to sing for a thousand generations. No more black limousines. No lines of mourners. No weeping pall-bearers. No stifled sobs. No heart-breaking goodbyes. No colorless cheeks. No death!” (McGuiggan p. 204) “O death, where is thy sting?”: “For where now, O death, is your power to hurt us” (Phi).

1 Corinthians 15:56 “The sting of death is sin; and the power of sin is the law” “The sting of death is sin”: “It is sin which gives death its sting” (Phi). “Death is the punishment for sin” (Genesis 3:19). “Paul's point is that death is not simply the result of decay through normal human processes, rather it is the result of the deadly poison, sin itself” (Fee p. 806). “The power of sin is the law”: See 1 John 3:4; Romans 4:15. “And the law which was used by sin to kill us (Romans 7:8,13)” (McGuiggan p. 204).

1 Corinthians 15:57 “but thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” “But thanks be to God”: And when was the last time we thanked God for this? “And while sin was powerful and death was universal, the Lord God was on our side! We weren't left alone to wrestle with what turned out to be too powerful for us. We were ‘given’ the victory, we didn't earn it!” (McGuiggan p. 205) Jesus Christ made atonement for sin (John 1:29; 3:16; Hebrews 7:27).

He removed us from the curse of the Law of Moses (Colossians 2:14,16). He also removed us from a system of "Law Justification" (Romans 8:1-4); and in His resurrection He defeated the power of death (Hebrews 2:14-18; Revelation 1:18). “Wonderful threefold victory!” (McGarvey p. 159) 1 Corinthians 15:58 “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not vain in the Lord”

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“Wherefore”: The conclusion. “Be ye steadfast”: “Continue to be firm, incapable of being moved” (Wms). “Hold your ground” (Mof). “Stand firm and let nothing move you” (Beck). “Keep on becoming steadfast, unshaken. Let the skeptics howl and rage” (Robertson p. 199). From the context they are to be steadfast and unmovable in the gospel which Paul preached to them (15:14). “Unmovable”: “Be not shifted from your position” (Lenski p. 753). An open mind is only useful if it is open to the truth (Colossians 1:23; Ephesians 4:14; 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12). “Always abounding in the work of the Lord”: “Work for the Lord always, work without limit” (NEB). “What a word for the thousands who work, pray, give, and suffer as little as possible” (Lenski p.

754). “The attitude of doing as little as we can get by with doing is foreign to the spirit of Christianity. We are to have this attitude always and not (just) for a few weeks after we are baptized” (Willis p. 592). “Forasmuch as ye know”: We need to all remember this. “That your labor is not vain in the Lord”: “Because you know that your labor in the service of the Lord is never thrown away” (Wms). “You know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever wasted” (Tay).

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